


gravity ( we're being pulled together without knowing. )

by SHINeeNAilee



Series: are we planets or are we stars? (or are we just afraid of being human?) [2]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash, does it count as pre-slash when they've already made out?, it took me THREE GODDAMN YEARS to write a sequel, yes it does when they're being PINING IDIOTS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 16:50:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18595426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SHINeeNAilee/pseuds/SHINeeNAilee
Summary: Aoko notices something strange with how Kaito and Hakuba-kun are interacting. Hakuba-kun can't seem to look at Kaito without a faint blush coming to his cheeks, and Kaito seems to be avoiding looking at Hakuba-kun altogether. Something clearly happened, and Aoko is going to get to the bottom of it!--Aoko sees the aftermath offantasy ( we're apart despite longing. )and decides to do something about it. Obviously, have to read that first.





	gravity ( we're being pulled together without knowing. )

**Author's Note:**

> It took me three mcfreakin' years to write this sequel. Hopefully, I have a better grasp of all of these characters now than I did in the first story, but, lol, I mcdoubt it. 
> 
> Not edited or beta'd because we die like dumbasses.
> 
> Thanks to flowers_and_wild_honey12 for commenting on the first one! It got the idea of a sequel stuck in my head, and, honestly, I probably wouldn't have written or thought out this story or the next (!) one without it.

Aoko thinks she's just imagining it at first. 

There's no real reason for either Hakuba- _kun_ or Kaito to be acting different--well, Aoko knows that Kaito got home late last night because he accidentally tripped and crashed over **_their_** fence (her dad would have thought Kaito was drunk, but Kaito was clearly sober and, also, her dad trusts him not to be drinking while underage), but a late night somewhere wouldn't have caused Kaito to just completely ignore Hakuba- _kun_. If Hakuba- _kun_ had accused Kaito of being Kid again, then, yeah, Kaito might sulk for a bit, but Hakuba- _kun_ hasn't talked to Kaito at **all** today, not even for their almost daily snarkfest. 

In fact, Aoko realises with narrowed eyes as she tries to remember how Hakuba- _kun's_ been acting, Hakuba- _kun's_ been looking over at Kaito (nothing new with his prime suspect for Kid), but he's also been... averting his gaze right after with faint red on his cheeks. Not even when Kaito dyes his hair pink or dresses him up with pigtails does Hakuba- _kun_ look away from Kaito with a blush on his cheeks, yet he's doing it now? 

Right, Aoko thinks with an external nod. Time to get to the bottom of this. For now, she's got to make sure that she's not imagining any weirdness, and then she can confront them. 

* * *

She kept watching both of them until lunchtime to find that her suspicions were correct--Kaito was ignoring Hakuba- _kun_ and Hakuba- _kun_ just kept looking at Kaito before blushing and looking away.

Now, at lunchtime, Aoko would be able to interrogate at least one of them (hopefully both, if they're not going to be stubborn about telling Aoko the truth). Normally, Aoko would try to invite Hakuba- _kun_ to eat lunch with her and Kaito with varying degrees of success (depending on how nice Kaito was feeling and how awkward Hakuba- _kun_ was feeling), and sometimes Akako- _chan_ would come along as well, but today Aoko was on a mission and she needed to eat with Kaito alone to get him to open up. 

Dropping his _bentō_ in front of Kaito (Aoko always makes _bentō_ for herself and Kaito because otherwise he'll sometimes forget to eat), Aoko waits until Kaito is lifting up the lid before asking, "Did something happen to you and Hakuba- _kun_?" 

Watching Kaito for reactions carefully, Aoko notices how he freezes in his motion for a split second, one eye twitching the way it sometimes did when he got caught and didn't want to acknowledge it (sometimes Kaito doesn't like to show his reactions on his face--he was like a cat in that way), before he continues the motion smoothly with a chuckle leaving his lips.

"What makes you say that, Ahōko?" he asks, trying to go for nonchalant even though his actions earlier already betrayed him to Aoko. "Nothing's happened between me and Hakuba." 

"You've been ignoring Hakuba- _kun_ all day," Aoko says, laying down her evidence. Rather than talk about how Hakuba- _kun's_ been blushing after looking at Kaito (she'll save that for later), Aoko continues with, "You haven't even looked at him, and usually you do by now even if just to think up pranks. Hell, Bakaito, you've even been paying attention in class--not even doodling or annoying Aoko." 

Now, normally, Kaito would half-wince, knowing he was caught and it was futile to keep trying to lie to Aoko, but this time, Kaito doesn't show any reactions--doesn't even show any emotions on his face, and Aoko knows she'll never get the answer from him. Kaito only heavily puts on this face when he absolutely never ever wants to answer, and Aoko knows from past experiences that no matter how much she badgers him, he'll never ever spill. 

"Nothing's happened between me and Hakuba," Kaito repeats, and Aoko wonders if she's imagining the slight emphasis of the word "me". (But who, or what, could Kaito be talking about?)

"Fine," Aoko says, knowing a losing battle when she sees one. Making the tactical decision to retreat, Aoko stands up and lifts her still-closed _bentō_ with her. "Then Aoko will go find Hakuba- _kun_ and ask him." 

"Fine," replies Kaito in return, sounding childish, but his index finger is twitching like it always does when he's nervous and wants to fiddle with his cards, so Aoko knows there's _something_ for sure. Aoko turns away from Kaito, determined to find Hakuba- _kun_ and get some answers. 

* * *

Aoko finds Hakuba- _kun_ with Akako- _chan_ , the other girl smirking at Hakuba- _kun_ while Hakuba- _kun_ looks faintly uncomfortable. Aoko can't read Hakuba- _kun_ as well as she can Kaito (because, well, childhood friends), but she's pretty sure that slight grimace pulling at the corner of his lips means he just doesn't want to be there. However, when Akako- _chan_ sees Aoko coming, the smirk on her face widens into a smile as she touches Hakuba- _kun's_ shoulder while standing up, lips forming words that Aoko can't hear but making Hakuba- _kun_ stare distrustfully at Akako- _chan_.

When Aoko finally makes it into hearing range, Akako- _chan_ says, "Good, you're here to help them. I'll be on my way now so you two can talk alone, but, Nakamori- _chan_? Always keep the idea of a broom closet in mind." 

With that cryptic remark said and done, Akako- _chan_ leaves Aoko and Hakuba- _kun_ alone, leaving Hakuba- _kun_ to glare balefully at Akako- _chan's_ back (and, Aoko will never say this out loud, looking a little like _Kaito_ when he's sulking) and Aoko to watch Hakuba- _kun_. Hakuba- _kun_ turns his attention away from Akako- _chan_ to Aoko, looking almost tired as he asks, "Are you here to interrogate me too? Or to make _really_  strange suggestions?"

Making a split-second decision, Aoko decisively says, "No," even though she **_had_** came here to interrogate Hakuba- _kun_ initially, as she sits down next to him. To show a sense of normalcy, Aoko starts to open up her _bentō_ , still untouched from earlier. 

"Aoko noticed that both Kaito and Hakuba- _kun_ are acting strangely today: Kaito's been ignoring Hakuba- _kun_ entirely, and Hakuba- _kun's_ been looking at Kaito and then blushing and looking away," Aoko says out loud as she starts to eat, and sees how Hakuba- _kun_ turns a little red now, perhaps at being caught out. "Aoko can tell, however, that neither Kaito nor Hakuba- _kun_ wants to talk to Aoko or anyone else about it, so while Aoko is curious and wants to know what happened, Aoko won't ask Hakuba- _kun_ what happened." 

As Aoko's declaration is laid out in the air in-between them, there's only the noises of Aoko eating her _bentō_ until Hakuba- _kun_ blurts out in a rush, "KurobaandImadeout." 

Aoko can't help but choke on the sweet potato  _tempura_ she made, and she coughs for a bit until Hakuba- _kun_ gives her his thermos of tea to drink from. Nodding gratefully at him while drinking, Aoko manages to calm down her coughs enough to stare at Hakuba- _kun_ with wide eyes belaying her shock. "You _made out_ with **_Kaito_**?! What, how, when, why?!" 

"I can't tell you the _exact_ details," Hakuba- _kun_ hedges, looking nervous, which makes sense considering him and Kaito _**made out**  _(which is putting a _lot_ of things into perspective for Aoko in the way that Kaito interacts with Hakuba- _kun_ ), "but, um, Kuroba was the one who... went for it, I guess I could say, but I'm not entirely sure if he meant it. He didn't seem... to be that affected or bothered by it." 

"Kaito might joke and prank about a lot of things," Aoko starts, already moving past her shock and thinking on how to fix this absolute mess, "but he'd never joke about feelings and, err, _making out_ like that. That's too cruel, and while Kaito's mean sometimes, he's not _mean_." 

"What if Kuroba was using making out as a distraction against someone else?" Hakuba- _kun_ asks, still looking nervous, but Aoko thinks she can see the faint glittering of hope in his eyes. 

Aoko waves a hand at that explanation. "Does Hakuba- _kun_ really think that Kaito would have to resort to _making out_ in order to distract someone? Even if he might not realise it too consciously yet, because Kaito can be dim about his own feelings sometimes, for him to choose to make out with Hakuba- _kun_ , Kaito would have to have some feelings for Hakuba- _kun_. Plus, Kaito only pranks and teases the people he likes." 

Hakuba- _kun_ blinks at the non-sequitur, before saying, "Pardon?" 

"Didn't Hakuba- _kun_ notice? All of the pranks that happen in the class, that don't involve the _entire_ class, are only against Aoko and Hakuba- _kun_. Kaito's like the type who tugs on the pigtails of the girl he likes, aaaand Aoko _really_ should have noticed the fact that he goes after Hakuba- _kun_ too and what that means before," Aoko ends with a mutter. Seriously, she _really_ should have realised it a long time ago. 

"So... you're saying he likes... both me and you?" Hakuba- _kun_  asks, and Aoko blinks as she realises the confusion she might have caused. 

"Ah, no, no, Kaito likes Aoko like a sister," Aoko states firmly, hopefully getting rid of Hakuba-kun's misunderstanding. Ever since Kaito's mum left and her dad had to help take care of Kaito too, they've essentially become _one_ family rather than just neighbours and childhood friends. "It's easy and fun for Kaito to prank Aoko, so he does. But Kaito doesn't have the history with Hakuba- _kun_ like he does with Aoko, and yet he still pranks Hakuba- _kun_ , which is Kaito's way of showing affection. So, it makes sense for Kaito to like Hakuba- _kun_ , even if he may not exactly realise it. But, either way, Kaito **DEFINITELY** wouldn't just make out with Hakuba-kun if he didn't feel _something_." 

"That's... reassuring," Hakuba- _kun_ says faintly. 

Aoko looks at Hakuba- _kun_ and sees that he's starting to blush again, but she can't help but think that Hakuba- _kun_ looks oddly... hopeful. Like Aoko's given him something to think about by sharing a little bit of how Kaito's mind works. But he also looks nervous--his eyes are wider and he's looking away from Aoko and staring off into the distance. Now, Aoko doesn't know Hakuba- _kun_ as well as she does Kaito, obviously, but she can't help but think that Hakuba- _kun_ is afraid. Like, he can't allow himself to imagine that Kaito might like him (back?) because he doesn't want to be disappointed and let down. 

"You really like Kaito, don't you?" Aoko asks, and Hakuba- _kun_ looks at her, expression serious as he nods.

"I think he's interesting," Hakuba- _kun_ says, his eyes turning vague as he thinks about Kaito. "He has one of the most fascinating minds I've ever seen, and I just... want to know more about him and what makes him tick. He's a mystery that I think will always have layers, even if I believe I've solved them all. And, even if I somehow _do_ , I must admit, I don't think I would ever find myself being bored of him or leaving him behind." 

Aoko nods resolutely in return before she asks, "Can I call you Saguru- _kun_? You can call me Aoko- _chan_ if you'd like." 

Hakuba- _kun_ blinks in confusion before he says, "I don't mind, but...?" 

"Because, Saguru- _kun_ , we're about to be partners in crime, and if you're going to start dating Kaito, you're about to become part of the family anyway," Aoko says, the corner of her lips pulling into a smirk as Saguru- _kun_ splutters wordlessly in response. 

"Partners in crime?" Saguru- _kun_ asks once he gets a hold of himself, purposefully ignoring the last part of her sentence, she bets. 

Aoko's smirk widens into a huge grin as she asks, "Do you want to come over to my house to have dinner tonight?" 


End file.
